Banana Bread

Ingredients 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed 1/3 cup melted butter (76gm) ½ to 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla ¾ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder A pinch of salt		Image via Wikipedia
Method Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Mash the banana. Then mix the melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add and mix in the sugar, egg, salt and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda, baking powder and salt over the mixture and mix well. Add the flour and mix well. Pour the mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan or baking tray. Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked. Cool and remove from pan to slice and serve.

Butter Prawns : Chinese Recipe

Ingredients :
5 large prawns
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Cooking Oil

Method :

• Clean prawns and remove shell but leave the head and tail intact. Mix prawns, milk, butter, salt and sugar, stir. Marinate for 30 minutes.
• Heat oil, fry prawns until pale brown. Dish up and drain oil.
• Serve with mustard sauce or chili sauce.

Stir-fried Beef with Basil : Thai Recipe

Ingredients :
4 tablespoons oil
5 bunches holy basil, stems removed to yield 2 cups
3 tablespoons minced garlic
4 tablespoons minced shallot
2 to 3 tablespoons minced red chilies
500g beef sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced
200g green beans, cut into lengths to yield 2 cups
5cm young ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon fish sauce
11/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

Method :

1. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat until hot and stir-fry 1/2 of the basil leaves for 2 to 3 minutes until crispy. Remove and rain on paper towels. Set aside.
2. In the same wok, heat the leftover oil over medium heat and stir-fry the garlic, shallots and chilies for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant. Add the beef and stir-fry for 2 minutes until just cooked. Add the green beans and ginger, and season with the fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Continue to stir-fry for another 2 to 3 minutes until the green beans are tender and cooked. Stir in the remaining basil leaves and remove from the heat.
3. Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with the reserved crispy fried basil leaves, and serve hot with steamed rice.

Stir-fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts : Chinese Recipe

Ingredients :

3 tablespoons minced garlic
500g boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced to yield 1 cup
1 small bell pepper, deseeded and cut into strips to yield 1 cup
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
95 roasted unsalted cashew nuts
1 spring onion, sliced, to garnish

Crispy Fried Dried Chilies
3 tablespoons oil
6 dried chilies, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes until soft, stems discarded, deseeded and drained

Method :

1. Make the Crispy Fried Dried Chilies first by heating the oil in a wok over medium heat until hot and stir-fry the dried chilies for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant and crispy. Remove the chilies and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
2. In the same wok, heat the leftover oil over medium heat and stir-fry the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown. Add the chicken and stir-fry for about 3 minutes until cooked. Add the onion and bell pepper, and stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Season with the fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir-fry for 3 more minutes and remove from the heat. Finally stir in the Crispy Fried Dried Chilies and cashew nuts.
3. Serve hot on a serving platter, garnished with spring onion.

Fish Head Curry : Indian Recipe

Ingredients :

2 fish heads (cleaned)
1 long brinjal (sliced)

1 packet curry powder

500ml coconut milk (squeezed from 1 coconut)

6 lady's finger

5 small tomato,halves

I onion,thickly sliced

Ground
4 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2cm piece ginger

1 star anise
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 dried tamarind slice
5 stalks curry leaves (knotted)
oil for stir-frying
salt, sugar to taste

Method :

1. Heat oil in a large pan. Stir-fry the ground ingredients, star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, salt and sugar till fragrant.
2. Put in the fish heads, brinjals, curry powder, curry leaves, dried tamarind slice and coconut milk. Stir often to get a thick and lovely consistency to the curry. Stir in lady's fingers and tomatoes.
   
3. As soon as the fish heads are done, remove from heat and serve.

Hainan Chicken Rice : Chinese Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh chicken of about 3 lbs. (1.5 kg)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1-inch piece of ginger
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1 spring onion sliced thinly
• 1 cucumber sliced thinly
• Salt

Steps:

1. Rub chicken with salt and let stand for about an hour. Place the coarsely chopped spring onion, ginger, and garlic inside the bird, place in a large stock pot, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes, skimming off froth that forms on top.
2. Turn stove off, cover the stock pot, and let stand for 30 minutes.
3. Remove chicken from stock, rinse it with cool water, then rub the skin with sesame oil.
4. Halve the chicken along the breastbone. Cut wings and drumsticks away from the breast. Chop each joint and each breast into 1-inch strips. Set aside
5. Boil half of the leftover stock uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until it is reduced by half. Add oyster sauce and set aside.
6. Rinse rice, then cook in remaining chicken broth until done.

Curry Puff

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, 1 potato, 1 onion – all peeled
• 1 Tbsp. Malay curry powder
• ½ tsp. sweet paprika
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 curry leaves
• ¼ tsp. sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 3 or 4 sheets of puff pastry
• Enough vegetable oil for deep frying.

Steps:

1. Cut vegetables into small pieces. Mix curry powder and paprika with water to form a paste. Add the 2 Tbsp. oil to wok and heat. Add curry paste and curry leaves and stir fry for 2 minutes.
2. Add chopped vegetables and cook for 3 minutes or so.
3. Add ½ cup water, cover and cook over low heat until water is evaporated.
4. Add sugar and salt, stir, and let cool
5. Cut circles from the puff pastry of about 4 inches in diameter. Place a spoonful of filling in the middle of each puff pastry circle. Moisten edge of pastry with a little water and fold over to form a crescent shape. Press edges together.
6. Heat oil in wok and deep fry curry puffs until golden. Drain and serve. Makes approximately 10 servings.

Tomyam Kung : Thai Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound of medium-size prawns
A dozen mushrooms

Image by shok via Flickr

1 stalk of lemon grass
3 lime leaves
6 green peppercorns
3 slices fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
3 tablespoons of lime juice
6 hot peppers, pounded lightly (less, depending on taste)
4 cups of water
1/2 cup of roughly chopped coriander leaves



Method

Remove the prawn shell but leave the tails (for appearance). Then cut open the back of each shrimp to remove the veins. Clean the mushrooms with water and dry them well before cutting each into quarters. Trim root and tough layers from lemon grass. Thinly slice first six inches. Bring 2 c. of stock to boil.

Bring water to boil, then add lemon grass, lime leaves, and prawns. When the prawns turn pink, add mushrooms, ginger, peppercorns, and salt. Remove the pot from heat after boiling. Add fish sauce, lime juice, and hot peppers to taste.

Serve the soup while still hot in individual soup cups and top each cup with a sprinkle of coriander.

Anchovies With Chillies : Malaysian Recipe

( Sambal Tumis Ikan Bilis )


Ingredients

• 1 bombay onion
• 1/2 cup dried ikan bilis (anchovies)
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsps tamarind juice
• 4 shallots
• 8 dried chillies
• Prawn paste
  
• Salt and sugar to taste

Method

Fry the ikan bilis until crisp and put aside. Grind the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, deseeded dried chilies. Slice the bombay onion into rings. Heat 2 table spoons oil in a pan and fry the ground ingredients until fragrant.
Add in the onion rings. Add tamarind juice, salt, sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until the gravy thickens. Add in the ikan bilis and mix well. Serve with steaming hot coconut rice (Nasi Lemak).

Nasi Lemak : Malaysian Recipe

Ingredients:

• 300g long grain rice
• 1 tsp salt
• 375-400ml coconut milk (from 1/2 a grated coconut)
• 2 pandan leaves, knotted

Method
Wash rice until clean then drain. Put rice and salt in a rice cooker. Pour coconut milk over the rice. (The level of the coconut milk should be 2cm above the level of the rice.) Cook rice until dry then use a wooden ladle to loosen the grains.
Sprinkle the rest of the coconut milk over the rice. Give it a stir to distribute the milk evenly. Stand for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the rice to absorb the coconut milk. Keep rice warm before serving with other condiments.